12 Hour Classes

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Most properly taught colonial women devoted many
hours creating decorative textiles for their home, items
that were useful as well as beautiful. For practical
reasons, panels for polescreens were favorite canvasworked
articles. A lovely addition to any room,
polescreens were used to shield people's faces from
the direct heat of the fire.

Subject matter for 17th and 18th Century pole/
firescreen panels varied. Large bouquets of naturalistic
flowers, tied with ribbons or overflowing from a
cornucopia, were popular designs. Single urns, vases
or baskets were shown filled with blooms. Other
choices were pastoral or pictorial scenes surrounded
by borders of flowers and foliage in bright colors.
Referring to pictures of antique floral panels for inspiration, students will create a pattern on graph
paper and needlepoint the design on #58 silk gauze,
using silk threads. Class discussion will include the
process followed for setting up the project, color
selection, and suggestions/recommendations for
creating 1/12" scale patterns from pictures of antique
needlework. Partial charts will be available for those
not wanting to design their own pattern.

TIME: 12 hours. Although the chart will be completed
by the week’s end, students will be given all instructions
and materials to finish the needlework at home.

POWER TOOLS: None

SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate and advanced

MATERIALS FEE: $25. As an option, for an additional
$150, the finished panel may be attached to a Queen
Anne polescreen, created by Richard Hardy.